Unable to Find Skilled Workers, Southwire Creates Training Program for High Schoolers

CARROLLTON, Ga.—Breonna Daniel, a onetime high-school dropout, was smoking pot and "hanging out with the wrong crowd" last year without a hint of concern for her future.

This summer, she is among hundreds of teens working on Southwire Co.'s factory line four hours a day, earning above minimum wage and spending eight hours a day in the company's classrooms. It is part of a novel program designed by the cable manufacturer to...